1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle mirror assemblies, and more particularly, to a socket joint for pivotally carrying a mirror head on a support tube that mounts to a vehicle.
2) Description of Related Art
Exterior mirror assemblies for commercial vehicles are relatively large, since, as a rule, several mirror elements and/or mirror heads combined with several mirror elements may be present. For this reason, the mirror heads with one or more mirror elements are often fastened onto a support member, for instance, steel tubing, mounted to the vehicle exterior. The fastening of the mirror heads onto the support tube is typically done by means of clamp fittings with a first and a second clamping part, which in combination, encompass the support tube.
Because clamp connections grip the support tube from both sides, the clamping parts can be bulky to firmly attach and support the mirror head on the support tube. This can cause aerodynamic turbulence around the mirror head and lead to various unwanted results, such as poor fuel economy and vibration of the mirror head. Excessive vibration can create disproportionate wear on the support and mounting components, leading to a premature failure of the mirror assembly.
To attempt to avoid these issues with a clamp type arrangement, an aerodynamically streamlined covering is provided over and incorporated into the clamping components to attempt to avoid unpleasant turbulence at driving air speed and to prevent excessive vibration. These type of clamp connections, however, increase manufacturing costs and assembly complexity. Additional problems arise in attempting to properly align such clamp type connections and position the mirror head assembly on the support tube. Also, the increased number of parts to make the connection to the support tube can undesirably increase the weight of the mirror assembly. Further, the clamp connection does not tend to provide an aesthetically appealing and streamlined arrangement.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved connection for mounting a mirror head to a support tube having increased stability, improved aerodynamics, and reduced weight.
Accordingly, it is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved connection for mounting a mirror head to a support tube having reduced manufacturing costs and assembly complexity by using fewer parts.